Testing? Testing? A New Emergency Link To U.S. President

A new nationwide Emergency Alert System test is planned at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9, on radio, television and cable, in Chesterfield and across the St. Louis area.

The system (EAS) is meant to enable the U.S. president to address the public in the event of extreme emergency.

The test will last up to three-and-a-half minutes on TV and radio. The test has been in development for two years.

FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) announced the first-ever test of the new aspect of the national communication system recently. Here's a FAQ from the FEMA website:

What will people hear and see during the Test?

During the test, listeners will hear a message indicating that “This is a test.” Although the Emergency Alert System test may resemble the periodic, monthly tests that most Americans are already familiar with, there will be some differences in what viewers will see and hear.

The audio message will be the same for all EAS test participants; however, due to some limitations, the video test message scroll may not be the same or indicate that “This is a test.” This is due to the use of live code—the same code that would be used in an actual emergency.

The text at the top of the television screen may indicate that an “Emergency Action Notification has been issued.” This notification is used to disseminate a national alert and in this case, the test.

In addition, the background image that appears on video screens during an alert may indicate that “This is a test,” but in some instances there might not be an image at all.

A Department of Homeland Security directive indicates emergencies would include terrorism; natural disasters; cybersecurity; weapons of mass destruction (WMD) threats; defense of agriculture and food; critical infrastructure protection; protection of key leadership and events; border security; maritime security; transportation security; immigration security.

The same test is 2 p.m. Eastern Time, 1 p.m. here, and so forth across the country.

Residents are encouraged to develop an emergency preparedness kit and emergency plan. More information is available at ready.gov and FEMA Emergency Alert System

The new alert system is a collaboration of FEMA, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.